The Hindu : Kerala / Thiruvananthapuram News : Graft wiped out at Walayar, says draft report

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Saturday, Oct 20, 2007
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Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram

Graft wiped out at Walayar, says draft report

Staff Reporter

Panel to hold hearing at check-post

Isaac: reduction in time required for clearing vehicles
Government to implement panel’s suggestions

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A draft social-audit report on the reforms initiated by the Finance Department at the Walayar check-post says corruption has been eliminated in clearance of goods vehicles there.

Releasing the report here on Friday, Finance Minister T.M. Thomas Isaac said the intense drive launched during the last two months had led to a drastic reduction in the time required for clearing vehicles carrying goods from other States to Kerala at the border check-post.

Aruna Roy, social activist; Renuka Viswanath, Central Secretary, Right to Information; D. Babu Paul and J. Lalithambika, former Additional Chief Secretaries; B Ekbal, former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Kerala; M.A. Oommen, economist; R.V.G. Menon, Kerala Sastra Sahithya Parishad leader; V. Vijayaraghavan, information-technology expert; and Leela Menon, journalist; are the panel members for the audit.

The Minister said they would listen to feedback and responses from various stakeholders on the claims made by the department on the reforms at a social-audit hearing session at Walayar on Tuesday. The Minister and officials from various departments would respond to the points made by the stakeholders, including traders, transport operators and the public.

Focus on feedback

Based on the feedback and official clarifications, he said, the panel will give a verdict on the department’s claims and steps to be taken to consolidate the gains.

Emphasising that it is for the first time that a regulatory department is conducting a social audit, the Minister said the State government would make all efforts to implement the panel’s suggestions.

The government was committed to making sales-tax collection corruption-free, transparent and customer-friendly.

Based on the experience at Walayar, the government would implement reforms at other check-posts, the Minister said.

Revenue leakage

Asked the estimated leakage of revenue because of corruption in the Sales Tax Department, Dr. Isaac said: “The government’s total annual income is about Rs. 25,000 crore and out of that, sales tax accounts for Rs. 10,000 crore. My estimates are that we should easily be able to collect Rs. 15,000 crore as sales tax, which means at present, there is a leakage of about 50 per cent in this sector.”

Verdict in a week

Mr. Babu Paul said the panel hoped to come out with its verdict within a week after the session. Dr. Ekbal, Mr. Vijayaraghavan, Ms. Lalithambika and Prof. Oommen were present.

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